The 2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupe is extremely high on the list of cars that every enthusiast should drive at least once. It’s a perfect example of exactly what BMW is capable of when it remembers that it used to build cars fitting the tagline; The Ultimate Driving Machine. Under the hood of the 1M sits a 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine that’s aided by a pair of turbochargers. It’s called the N54, and it’s a truly wonderful engine that has found love amongst the BMW faithful. It’s also the perfect starting point for a company like Dinan to go nuts.

What the Dinan team have done is turn the 1M into a truly amazing machine. That’s a pretty excellent achievement considering the 1M is already amazing. Dinan has gone further, however, because the S3-R now produces 444 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque from the N54 engine. This comes about thanks to larger turbochargers, an air-to-air intercooler, and a host of other under-hood goodies.

Advertising is all about personalization these days. And gaining the attention of Lake Forest, IL is a good start. By keeping the locals on their toes looking out for an Audi R8 Gt

9) BMW i3 – Become Electric

What better way to advertise the world’s first premium fully electric car, than with electricity styling? The glowing effect around the cut-out of the i3 is certainly very striking, and is sure to catch the attention of passers by. Although it does vaguely look like something out of TRON.

8) Mini – Let there be Xenon

Attracting a crowd from far further than eye distance of the ad itself, these Batman-esque lights in the sky are sure to make you look at this gravity-defying Mini. Plus, it demonstrates the true power of Xenon.

7) Ford Mustang – Fast

GE Lexan EXL semi-transparent resin gave birth to this advert for the Mustang. So what is it? Well, it blurs the scene behind the billboard, whatever it may be; demonstrating the speed and ferocity of Ford in a way no other advert could. Awesome.

6) Mini – Electronic Billboard

These personalized ads are activated via humans with iPads, displaying photos of drivers and various messages. Mini’s idea was to make their brand feel special, with the hashtag #MiniNotNormal supporting this. I can’t help but think this would be a pretty major distraction for drivers, however.

5) Hot Wheels – Loop the loop billboard

Okay, so maybe this one isn’t directly a car brand. But it’s still car related, and I couldn’t resist including it. On a long stretch of highway, coming across this Hot Wheels loop-the-loop is sure to bring a smile to your face. Ahh, to be young.

4) Smart – Small is beautiful

Smart have always gone about things differently, and this campaign is no different. Who said billboards have to be huge? Small car, small billboard. Very classy.

3) Smart – Bridge jump billboard

Another entry from Smart, demonstrating the more fun and zany side of advertisements. Having to double-take the view of a car making the jump between this bridge is a very “smart” idea.

2) Ford Mustang – Smoking billboard

Couple a billboard with a smoke machine, and this is what you get. Appearing at the Woodward Dream Cruise, every 3 minutes the rear tire would spin, generating the appearance of a burnout.

1) Audi and BMW – Chess Billboard War

If you have seen this before, then you probably saw this coming. One of my personal favorite brand-wars, the two German car manufacturers BMW and Audi go head-to-head billboard style. Who wins this game of chess? It’s a tough choice.

Honorable mention:

So the last post was pretty smart, right? Well Audi replied once more, showing off their sports car prowess in the form of the R8. Of course, BMW also have their own heritage of fast cars, in the form of F1. Unfortunately, it seems the blimp was a photoshop, but to be frank, that doesn’t have any effect on the impact for us on the internet. It still remains a stroke of pure genius, in one of the best rivalries going.

Have we missed out one of your favorites? Let us know over on Twitter @Carhootsapp

It’s… beautiful. With that song and those shots, they’re definitely pushing for the “manly” market. Even if soft-tops don’t always lend themselves to that.

The new BMW Convertible M4 looks set to make a mark, especially with this kind of introductory video, (so what if it’s kind of corny?).

The roof can be lowered in 20 seconds, reaching speeds of 8mph itself. Crikey. It also comes with a lovely “Air Collar”, to keep your neck nice and toasty when the roof is down. Perfect.

The engine is of course, what matters. It’s still beasty, boasting a twin-turbo-charged, 3.0 litre straight-six; the same found in the M4 Coupe and M3 Saloon. This produces 431bhp, and 406lb of torque.

Have a gander at some of the images below, alongside the video. Get pumped.

Thought LED headlights were bright? Then this new laser tech is the next step.

The new i8 hybrid from BMW is one of the first to feature the new technology, allowing for unprecedented brightness in the road ahead.

The concept of having “daylight-like” illumination at night certainly sounds promising; but it also looks cool. BMW have stated “several high-performance diodes emit a strongly bundled beam via special lenses on to a fluorescent phosphorus substance inside the headlamp. This substance transforms the beam into an exceptionally bright white light that is ten times more intensive than conventional light sources.” Pretty sweet, huh.

BMW haven’t announced how much this laser add-on will cost, but the car itself comes in at a nice $135,000. So, not exactly cheap. This technology will eventually spread to cheaper models and cars, but how many years down the line that will be is speculation at this point.

You would think a flamethrower on your car would be a future car option but it turns out this James Bond style option was available in the late 90’s in South Africa.

It was called the BMW Blaster, specifically designed for the Johannesburg area in South Africa. The Blaster would protect the driver from potential carjackings as they were on the up in the area at the time.

“The device sold only a few hundred of them before being discontinued, due to poor financial return. It’s thought that a number of these are still installed on cars in South Africa, though the carjacking problem, while still one of the worst in the world, isn’t nearly as bad as it once was.”

There are road movies, and there are road movies, and then there’s Locke; an 85-minute long film that takes place entirely inside (okay, with a few exterior shots of the car thrown into the mix) a previous generation BMW X5 (E70) driven by Tom Hardy’s lead (…obviously) character Ivan Locke.

If you take enough photos on a drive across the United States, you can create a time lapse video that replays the epic drive in just a few minutes.

That’s what a driver who identified himself as Maurizio Sera Art did recently, covering the 2,740 mile-trip from Los Angeles, Calif., to Washington, D.C. He strapped a Hero3 GoPro camera to the roof of his BMW and had it snap a photo of the road every two seconds.

The upcoming New York International Auto Show will see the awards giving out for the world car of the year. The finalist in a range of categories have been announced. Here are the 11 finalists for the 2014 World Car of The Year in the ‘Performance’ category. Which model get’s your vote?

Last month, Audi R&D chief Ulrich Hackenberg made a big promise: “We will be the first car brand to put laser lights into production,” he told journalists at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He did not specify which vehicle would be fitted with the technology, which was showcased on the Audi Sport Quattro concept.

Now BMW announces that its i8 plug-in hybrid sports car “will be the first series production car with this innovative lighting technology.” It will be an option on the i8 from the fall of 2014 onwards. Full LED lights are standard; the laser option pertains to high-beam headlights and doubles their reach. The last we heard from BMW is that it would likely not be offered on i8s sold in the U.S.

The race is on. And as far as we are concerned, it doesn’t matter which brand has it on its option list first. It’s lasers locked and loaded on the tarmac that counts and the company that has the first vehicles with laser headlights at dealerships wins. We look forward to finding out which carmaker that will be.

Ever seen ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’ and wanted to do the car park drift for real. Everyone’s dreamed it, right? We’ll someone in a BMW stopped dreaming and put those F&F drifters to shame.

Each week, CarandDrivers German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.

BMW’s F30 3-series architecture is one of the industry’s most fertile, with the latest body variation, the 4-series Gran Coupe, coming to market in just two years. (The F30 platform sits beneath the 3-series sedan, Gran Turismo, and wagon, and a version also underpins the 4-series coupe and convertible.) The four-door Gran Coupe is quite a bit more expensive than a 3-series sedan and not as practical as the 3-series Gran Turismo, but it is probably the most beautiful variation of the platform next to the 4-series coupe. The hatchback shape with its short, stubby deck reminds me of the premium hatches of the 1980s, such as the Merkur Scorpio and the Saab 9000.

While it might seem like BMW is chasing every conceivable niche, and even inventing new ones (X6, anyone?), it unfortunately won’t be chasing the small, high-performance four-door-coupe genre. An M4 Gran Coupe isn’t in the cards, BMW sources tell me, because that particular niche is just too small. There will be the M3 sedan, the M4 coupe, and the M4 cabriolet—and that’s it.

In other BMW news, the automaker might drop the “Modern Line” equipment level from its portfolio soon. Sold in Europe as an alternative to the base model, as well as the somewhat conservative “Luxury Line” and sporty “Sport Line,” the “Modern” trim aims to create a wellness-type environment with soft, monochromatic colors schemes and unusual (modern!) materials. (A 4-series cockpit thus equipped is pictured above.) I am told that most customers dislike the look, especially the light-colored steering wheel and the three-dimensional “Fineline Pure” wood trim. Personally, I disagree with them, and I applaud BMW’s courage to try out new color and trim designs. If I were in the market for a new 3-series, mine would be a manual-transmission 335i with the “Modern Line” package.

The V-class. Its sister model, the Vito, will come to the U.S.

Vito for America, No Qoros for Europe—Yet

It is not clear yet whether Mercedes-Benz will bring its new V-class family van to the U.S. market. The passenger van would fill a niche long ago inhabited by the Volkswagen Eurovan. But I got confirmation from the company that the V-class’s commercial-van sister model, the Vito, will be sent stateside. It’ll be powered by Benz’s ubiquitous 2.1-liter, OM651 turbodiesel, and even though the Vito hasn’t been unveiled yet, it likely won’t look much different from the V-class.

We had thought that the Qoros 3 hatchback was designed mainly for Europe.

The Chinese auto revolution in Europe will be delayed. Qoros, the offspring of a joint venture by Chery and an Israeli corporation, was supposed to be launched in key European markets by 2015. Now the brand’s vice chairman Volker Steinwascher, a former VW executive, says that it is “not clear when we will come to Europe,” adding, “Europe is not attractive right now.” Steinwascher was speaking at the CAR Symposium in Bochum, which is organized by Professor Ferdinand Dudenhöffer and is regarded as one of the big events on the automotive calendar in Germany.

This will be the fastest street-legal Astra ever.

Some Geneva Auto Show News

News about the upcoming Geneva auto show’s big debuts is beginning to trickle in. Here’s a photo of the upcoming Opel Astra OPC Extreme (written in all caps by Opel). According to Opel, this OPC will be the fastest street-legal Astra ever, and a low-volume production run is promised, as well. There are few details, but this racy picture is more than enough to whet our appetite. So . . . how about that Buick version?

Meanwhile, Liechtenstein-based nanoFLOWCELL AG has announced a concept car called the Quant for Geneva. It is running and driving prototype of a fully electric, S-class–sized four-door sedan, and will be used to help evaluate energy flow and charging and regeneration strategies in electric cars. I, for one, am mostly curious about the styling—just look at that teaser shot above. Also, this is the first car to come out of Liechtenstein in a very long time; anyone remember the Jehle Saphier? We’ll wait while you Google that one.

At this year’s CES show in Las Vegas, Audi unveiled a prototype laser headlight system on the hot Sport Quattro concept car. So is laser light the next big thing after halogen, HID, and full LED headlights? In a word, no. Engineers tell me that laser light won’t be able to emit the wide carpet of light needed for low-beam applications. But it will be an excellent addition to today’s LEDs and HIDs, as it provides an extremely powerful high-beam functionality. And it sounds cool to say your car has “laser light,” doesn’t it?

Congrats, AMG

AMG has just celebrated its most successful year ever, having sold 32,200 AMG-badged cars globally. The compact and relatively affordable A45 AMG and CLA45 AMG models undoubtedly will further boost this figure, and the brutish G63 AMG SUV continues to sell in record numbers. Congratulations are in order to AMG chief Tobias Moers, and to his predecessors Volker Mornhinweg and Ola Källenius, who helped to put the current program on track to success.

Still buddies? Dieter Zetsche and Andreas Renschler.

Meanwhile, corporate Daimler drama is unfolding around the sudden departure of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle chief Andreas Renschler. The executive is rumored to be headed to the Volkswagen Group, where he could take charge of that outfit’s commercial vehicle group once former Scania chief Leif Östling retires. However, Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche reportedly has said that Renschler won’t be working for a competitor “in the foreseeable future.” Let’s see how this one will unfold . . .

The Doberhuahua, left, and Mercedes-Benz’s CLA on the right.

One final remark on this year’s Super Bowl commercials, which my colleagues have covered ad nauseam: Is it just me, or did Audi model its mildly terrifying Doberhuahua creature after the Mercedes-Benz CLA-class?

It’s finally here: BMW’s four-door-coupe version of a coupe derived from a sedan. If that is a bit confusing, you’re thinking too hard. Just go with it.

BMW’s answer to a question no one knew to ask, the 2014 4-Series Gran Coupe puts a sleeker, trimmer look on the four-door F30–or adds a couple doors to the two-door F32, looked at from another angle. Whatever angle you approach the new 4-Series Gran Coupe from, however, you’re likely to find something worth looking at.

That’s right–to our surprise, we completely understand why BMW built this car. It’s not that the 3-Series isn’t comely enough, it’s that the 4-Series coupe’s lines translate so well to the four-door format. The result is a strikingly good-looking car that commands attention just as it defies categorization.

Inside you’ll find the familiar design and equipment shared with the 3-Series sedan and 4-Series coupe.

The only real difference is in the back seat, where slightly snugger, more bucket-like seats and handy 40:20:40 split-folding seatbacks combine utility and style–with perhaps a bit less headroom than you’d find in a true sedan.

Like its two-door 4-Series coupe counterparts, the 2014 BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe will be available in both 428i and 435i specifications. The 428i gets BMW’s 2.0-liter, 240-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder engine, while the 435i uses the 300-horsepower, 3.0-liter turbocharged in-line six. At launch, the 428i Gran Coupe will also be available with xDrive all-wheel drive. An eight-speed automatic transmission is the sole option on all U.S.-market models, with standard manual-mode paddle shifters and several shift modes selectable via the Driving Dynamics Control in the center console.

Though you’d think BMW would have to lengthen the 4-Series coupe to add the extra doors, the 4-Series Gran Coupe shares its overall length, wheelbase, and track width with the coupe.

The only exterior dimensional changes are a roof that’s 4.4-inches longer, and 0.5-inches higher for greater rear-seat headroom.

Features, options, and trim lines closely mirror the 4-Series coupe range, with Sport Line, Luxury Line, and M Sport packages available to customize the look and feel of the car.

The 2014 BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe will make its global debut at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show next month, followed by a U.S. debut at the 2014 New York Auto Show. Pricing starts at $41,225 (all prices include destination) for the 428i Gran Coupe; the 428i xDrive Gran Coupe starts from $43,225; and the 435i Gran Coupe will run at least $46,725. Retail sales will start in early summer 2014.

Watch as a gas station worker risks his own life to prevent mass inferno.

Arsene Fitsulaev of Kaspiysk, Russia, rushed into action after a moronic BMW driver clipped a large fuel tank at a filling gas station.

Heroic Fitsulaev risked life and limb by running through the gas vapour and quickly shutting down the gas tank valves. This quick thinking action averted a catastrophic mass explosion as a result of the gas vapour lighting up.

Quite rightly, Fitsulaev was given an award for his bravery by the local council.

You didn’t think that BMW’s first i-series models, the i8 hybrid coupe and the electric i3 hatchback, would avoid the touch of the tuning industry, did you? While seen here in rendered concept form, Lumma Design’s CLR i8 and CLR i3 point to what we should expect in the near future once the cars begin to arrive in the hands of their new owners.

For the 357hp (362PS) i8, the German tuner proposes a full carbon-fiber kit comprising a front spoiler, side skirts and rear bumper with diffuser along with a tailor-made sticker set with lime-green accents and matte-black, spider-style alloy wheels.

The CLR i3?s appearance is modified with a front spoiler lip, a specially designed hood and side skirts, all of which are all made of high-strength and ultra-light carbon. It too gains a different set of rims.

Lumma Design did not say if and when it will introduce these parts for the BMW models.

There are a lot of things to consider when buying a new car: What kind of fuel economy does it earn? What safety features does it offer? Will I need to call tech support just to set up the radio?

One thing we’ve never heard folks ask, though, is whether their new ride will be attractive to potential mates. And yet, that’s exactly the question posed in a new survey from Insure.com.

Over the course of December 2013, the website polled 2,000 drivers age 18 and older. Respondents were asked to describe the kinds vehicles they found most attractive for potential mates to drive. (FYI, the survey focused on opposite sexes, so gay and lesbian readers, you’re out of luck this round.)

Among women, 32 percent said that they found men who drove pickup trucks to be most attractive. Men driving sports cars came in a reasonably close second at 27 percent. SUVs (16 percent), sedans (11 percent), and hybrid/electric vehicles (four percent) rounded out the top five. Unshockingly, women found mail trucks to be the least attractive vehicle for men to drive. (NB: How mail trucks even wound up on the survey, we’ll never know.)

In terms of brands, women were more divided, though Ford garnered the most up-votes at 16 percent, followed by Chevrolet and Porsche. And when it came to the color of a prospective mate’s ride, women far and away chose black (53 percent) as the sexiest color. Silver took home the silver medal, with 16 percent of the vote.

WHAT MEN PREFER WOMEN TO DRIVE

Men were somewhat more opinionated in their vehicle preferences for women. A very lopsided 39 percent found women in sports cars most attractive, while the #2 vote-getter — sedans — earned just 22 percent. SUVs came in third at 20 percent, and at the bottom of the list were minivans, with just four percent of the vote. Curiously, it doesn’t seem that mail trucks were included on the men’s survey.

Men were also more upscale in their choice of brands than women were. BMW landed in the top spot, earning 16 percent of the vote, followed by Mercedes-Benz (14 percent) and Porsche (ten percent). And on the color front, men showed a distinct preference for red, with 40 percent pegging that as their favorite car color for women. Black (23 percent) and silver (14 percent) followed.

To lend a little weight to the survey’s fluffy, questionable premise, Insure.com asked a few experts to respond to the findings. Joe Wiesenfelder from Cars.com said that he understands why the black pickup is so attractive to women: “A woman walks up to a black pickup truck and says to herself, ‘Here’s a guy who can help me move, bring me large gifts from Crate & Barrel and do repairs around my condo.'” Honestly, there’s too much going on in that sentence for us to unpack.

And men aren’t the only one sticking with well-trodden tropes. Edmunds.com’s Jessica Caldwell has a warning for guys who don’t live by tried-and-true masculine stereotypes: “I would think twice about dating a guy driving a VW Beetle, or anything labeled a chick car…. Telling your friends, ‘Yeah, my new boyfriend drives a VW Beetle,’ that would be very humiliating.”

If this kind of information matters to you, you now have some very handy tools to help you choose your next car. If not, well, you’ve learned something about your fellow man — and woman.

Americans care about precisely one thing in a convertible, and at the risk of blaspheming our national anthem, we will transcribe it thusly: O say can you see me? We are an extroverted people, our convertibles meant to be driven with the top down such that everyone can see how much we’re enjoying the sun and fun. Germans, on the other hand, have this peculiar notion that when you quite literally peel back the roof of a coupe there are further considerations beyond the afternoon weather forecast. For them, structural stiffness, interior noise, and all-season utility count as well, so it’s not surprising then that the new BMW 4-series convertible gets good marks in all three categories. READ MORE ››

The Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S, the BMW M6 Gran Coupe and the Jaguar XFR-S are big and comfortable and usable, but they also have a load of power and tires just made to overload and skid around on. So let’s do that.

There are a lot of reasons to moan about the current state of BMW’s cars, including a couple of the porkier M vehicles. But the new 2014 M235i isn’t one of them. It’s the opposite.

This, friends, is what the F30 should have been, at least as far as the balance between poise, ride, dynamics, and feel goes. It’s just an incredibly well-sorted little sports coupe. As BMW’s introduction of the M Performance line to the U.S., it’s a great start.

That’s not to say a few areas couldn’t be sharpened up (ahem, steering) or tightened up (there’s still a fair bit of body roll), but the knife’s edge cuts both ways when tuning a car, and BMW has chosen a remarkably equitable splitting point.

And that’s before you notice just how much better the new M235i looks. Gone are the rather awkward curves around the rear of the roof line, the drawn-in sides, the sucked-in cheeks. The M235i wears its look honestly, and it comes off just about perfect in person.

Powertrain & Chassis

Under the hood you’ll find the familiar N55 in-line six-cylinder turbocharged engine. In M235i guise it’s good for a solid 320 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque. That’s plenty for a street car, and it feels like it’s every bit as stout as its rating from behind the wheel–even when matched to the eight-speed automatic transmission, as all of the test vehicles were for the car’s global launch in and around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

During our time with the car we got a handful of laps around the tight and short infield road course, as well as a quartet of circuits of the steeply banked oval and a few dozen miles on the road. That’s hardly enough time to judge the longer-term merits of the car, but it did give us a very good feel for its innate qualities.

It’s really quite good.

Flip into Sport+ mode and you’re rewarded with snappy shifts that aren’t quite dual-clutch quick or affirmative, but are very close; a lively throttle pedal; slightly stiffer steering feel; and a firmer ride from the M Adaptive suspension. That M Adaptive suspension is standard equipment in the U.S., as is the 13.4-inch front/11.4-inch rear M Sport Braking System, variable sport steering, and Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires.

The M Performance equipment works in harmony to produce incredible fun. It’s certainly not the fastest way around a track–there’s no real limited slip differential in base form; you’ll have to have your dealer install one as an option–but that won’t stop it from causing you to pull a pleased face or two. BMW says the M235i will scoot to 60 mph in just 4.8 seconds with the automatic gearbox and its launch control function, and we don’t doubt it–it may be a tick or two quicker in real-world use. Top speed is limited to 155 mph.

Unlike a lot of modern BMWs, the M235i doesn’t come with standard run-flat tires. That smooths out the ride considerably on the street, where even in Sport+ mode, the M235i is about as unobjectionable as a sporty coupe can be. For those accustomed to high-performance cars, it’s downright plush. On track, however, the tires introduce a few small issues–or at least we think that’s the case from our limited testing.

Softer sidewalls produce good ride characteristics, and good grip, too, as you’d expect from a Michelin Pilot Super Sport tire. But that sidewall softness also introduces a bit of a vague sense to the car’s direction changes, most noticeably through the electric power steering. Whether all of the steering’s issues come down to the tires or the EPS tuning itself, the M235i exhibits only middling levels of feel as to what the contact patch is doing against the asphalt.

There’s still enough information to know when the front is about to break away, and in its stock staggered-tire format, that’s precisely the end that’s most likely to come loose first unless you intentionally ham it into oversteer. Once braked down and setup for a fast turn, the M235i settles with a very neutral feel, seemingly rotating about an axis roughly between the driver’s seat and the steering wheel–much better than the follow-the-nose dynamics in some sport coupes.

Then there’s the issue of curb weight: in U.S. spec, the M235i tips the scales at 3,535 pounds (or 3,505 with the manual gearbox). That’s pretty hefty no matter the angle you take on it, and while the car’s dynamics make it feel lighter, the laws of physics will still come into play; tires, brakes, and power all have to shift that weight around.

Bottom line here: it’s not the best sport coupe BMW could have built for the track (that might be the unreasonably affordable 60,000 euro M235i Racing), but it’s big fun on the closed circuit, and just as good on the open road, if not better.

Interior & Features

Those who owned or test-drove the previous BMW 1-Series will remember the cave-like feeling and rather underwhelming finishes on most of the materials in the cabin. That’s somewhat remedied in the new 2-Series, with inlaid trim panels in wood-like tones, as well as a standard moonroof for all U.S. models that brightens up the black-on-black theme.

The rear seat is usable, even for taller folks, though six-footers will want to ride across town rather than across the country. Up front, there’s plenty of head, leg, shoulder, and hip room–even for a pair of occupants well over six feet (and one well over 200 pounds). The trunk is about what you’d expect: enough space for some, but not too much, gear. It’s better than a convertible, at least. In other words: Score some more points for the M235i’s practicality factor–a definite bonus for those having to sell a fun-car purchase to a significant other.

Stuck atop the dash is BMW’s wide aspect ratio iDrive screen, which measures 6.5 inches in standard U.S. form, or 8.8 inches with the optional navigation system thrown in. All of the test units we’ve seen were fitted with the 8.8-inch system, which looks like a large tablet is about half-buried in the dash. We like the look; others will find it annoying that the screen doesn’t recess into the dash when not in use. Either way, the latest version of iDrive is the best yet, and is surprisingly easy to use–for most ordinary functions, at least. If you want to be a power user, get used to digging through menu trees, just like nearly other complex infotainment system on the market.

For those who’d like to take their M235i to the next level, there are a number of driver assistance technologies available, including: High Beam Assistant, Adaptive Headlights, Parking Assistant, rear view camera, Driving Assistant, cruise control with braking function, real-time traffic information, and, of course, BMW’s extended smartphone integration and BMW Apps suite.

At the pump, BMW thinks you’ll see about 22 mpg city, 32 mpg highway, and 25 mpg combined when fitted with the eight-speed auto; the six-speed manual (a “no-cost option” for the U.S.) will run closer to 19 mpg city, 28 mpg highway, and 22 mpg combined.

The Competition

So, BMW has clearly built a very well-thought-out, well-executed little sports coupe here. But how will it take on the market?

At a starting price of $44,025–but pretty well-stocked with features and M Performance equipment to start–it’s about $4,000 less expensive than the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG, which may be its closest natural competition, at least until the Audi S3 shows up on our shores. The Bimmer is rear-drive only, of course, and it’s down a bit on power to the 355-horse front/all-wheel-drive CLA45, but dynamically, it’s purer, even if no sharper (nor, likely, any quicker around a track) than the Benz. You can get the tail out on the M235i; the front-biased CLA45 AMG settles for neutral at best.

We’ve spent considerably more time in the Best Car To Buy-winning CLA45 AMG, however, and it has yet to wipe the permagrin from our faces. Can the 2014 BMW M235i achieve the same long-term love? We’ll have to drive it more to be sure, but the early feedback is promising.

BMW has built a real contender for the compact sport/luxury segment with the M235i, and a real value, too. For our money, this is the BMW to buy–at least until we get our hands on the M4.

BMW’s new 2015 M3 and M4 have been some of the most talked about cars for the past several years, and now they’ve finally landed, having made their respective debuts this week at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show. For those still in the dark, the M4 is essentially the replacement for the outgoing M3 Coupe. It’s picked up a 4 in its moniker as it’s based on the latest 4-Series model. The M3, meanwhile, is now available exclusively as a sedan.

Apart from one being a coupe and the other a sedan, the two cars are much the same. Both will come with a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six engine delivering 425 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. That’s only a slight increase in power over the outgoing M3’s 414-horsepower naturally-aspirated 4.0-liter V-8, but it is a significant leap in torque considering the old V-8 was delivering only around 295 pound-feet.

The gains are apparent when you look at the quoted acceleration figures. With either the standard six-speed manual or optional seven-speed M-DCT dual-clutch, you’re looking at 0-60 mph times of 4.0 seconds or less for either the M3 or M4. And BMW is typically quite conservative with its acceleration figures. Top speed of either car has been electronically limited to 155 mph.

Performance in the cars is also improved significantly by weight savings. BMW says on comparably equipped models, the M3/M4 save about 176 pounds over the previous-generation M3 sedan and M3 Coupe. Most of the savings come from the use of lightweight materials for certain components, including aluminum and carbon fiber reinforced plastic.

Both cars hit showrooms later this year, as 2015 models. We’ll be driving them closer to the sales launch, at which point we’ll be able to bring you our impressions as well as the all-important pricing information.
For more from the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, head straight to our dedicated hub.

BMW drivers have a reputation for being douchebags in the U.S but that stereotype looks like it’s spreading over to Europe too judging by this BMW M3 driver in Belgium who repeatedly brake checks a truck on the highway.

Of course, not all BMW drivers will have the same douche road rage behaviour and we are sure there are a lot of nice people behind BMW wheels, but people like this are giving BMW’s a bad reputation.

This guy might have just had a bad day, but trying to get revenge by putting somebody elses and your own life at risk isn’t cool! Luckily, the truck driver exited the road and the BMW driver kept driving without any further incident.

Let’s start this off by saying the folks at Hagerty know classic cars. They know them really well, and that’s why they’re good at pricing them, insuring them, and generally understanding the world of collector cars from minor muscle machines to top-flight European exotics. So when we hear that Hagerty had just put out a list highlighting the new vehicles that it feels should be considered future classics, we expected to be in total agreement. We aren’t.

The rules: They must be new cars and they must start below $100,000. Out of ten on the list… we agree with about three of them. Maybe four.

No question, an easy pick and we would put it atop our list as well. However, we feel this one gets in by the skin of its teeth based on the rules. Hagerty is going off MSRP, but if you find someone who had actually paid just $99,000 for this crazy kitty we’d be shocked. Your author has driven a V8 S… which wore a sticker price of $104,000.

Not a chance. If the E39 M5 hasn’t made the leap yet, then the latest iteration won’t either. We’re not saying the E39 won’t get there, because it definitely will… but it’s not there yet. If you have your eye on owning one though, you’d better do it now. As for the current car, just wait for it to depreciate… massively.

You know how much current collectors love theoriginal Ghibli… wait, they don’t? Ah, got it. Look, the old Ghibli is a pretty cool looking machine, and the new car is, well, actually rather excellent, but it’s no future classic. No one will be pining for a vintage (current) Quattroporte 25 years from now, and no one will be pining for the baby version either.

This will inevitably be a future classic, but that’s practically cheating. It’s going to take some time, of course, but it will eventually get there. Buy one for your great grandkids… because you’re not likely to see it rise in value in your lifetime.

Nope. The 240Z? Come to papa. A 1984-1989 Z31 300ZX? Maybe someday. The twin-turbo Z32? There’s a chance, but we’re a ways off. The 350Z? Never. The 370Z is a great leap over the 350Z, and it’s a blast to drive… but we don’t see folks clamoring for them in the future.

8. Dodge Challenger Shaker:

The future generation will probably opt for the 370Z Nismo before it spends serious coin at an auction block for a modern Challenger. This is just another thing that the old Challenger does better than the new Challenger… bring bucks at the auction block for years to come.

9. Jeep Wrangler Rubicon X:

The most confusing choice on the list. All those CJ5 and CJ7 Jeeps aren’t forecasting too strongly, so why should the Rubicon X? Think 4.0-liter I6-equipped Jeeps, not 3.6-liter units (even though that engine is WAY better than the last one Chrysler stuck in there).

This one… actually could happen. The Fiesta ST could be one of those once in-awhile something-special machines that flies in out of nowhere, impresses everyone who touches it, and leaves us far to quickly. We hope that’s not the case, but it’s highly probable.

So there you have it. That’s the Hagerty list, and that’s how we feel about it. We’d just like to reiterate that Hagerty typically knows what it’s talking about… so we could be way off. What do you think? Sound off below.

BMW demonstrates their new autonomous driving technology – a self-driving car that drifts!

Wired.com Report: BMW makes the Ultimate Driving Machine, and now it’s made the Ultimate Drifting Machine. Except it’s the code that’s in control.

At CES, BMW is showing off a modified 2-Series Coupe and 6-Series Gran Coupe that can race around a track at the limits of adhesion, and slide around corners like a throttle-happy Formula Drift ace.

Both cars are outfitted with a LIDAR system, 360-degree radar, ultrasonic sensors, and cameras that track the environment. Partnered with the electronic braking, throttle, and steering control that’s standard on all new BMWs, the prototypes can run through a high-speed slalom, perform precise lane changes, and slide around corners, without any driver intervention.

This is just the latest iteration of BMW’s autonomous driving tech, which began with its Track Trainer project that used GPS, waypoint markers, and uploaded track maps to run around Laguna Seca and the Nürburgring nearly as fast as a professional hot shoe.

This new suit of systems have been undergoing testing in Germany for the better part of a year, logging some 9,000 miles of real-world driving in cities and on the autobahn, keeping up with 80 mph traffic — further proof that your next car will be a better driver than you. via wired.com

The 2015 BMW i8 is arguably the most highly anticipated car for 2015 and while BMW have released a great deal about the ‘green’ supercar’, we now know even more detail on the i8s design and performance in newly released videos.

The i8 has been built on innovation, with the german automaker creating a fuel efficient plug in hybrid supercar. This focus on innovation have raised slight concerns from consumers who fear that traditional quality and performance may be sacrificed. BMW have however, put minds at ease with two incredibly impressive videos that explain and demonstrate how the quality in design and performance will be ever present in the i8.

Images of BMW’s brand new M cars, the M3 Saloon and M4 Coupe hit the web ahead of the official reveal.

Yesterday BMW dropped a totally unrevealing teaser video of its new M models, the M3 saloon and M4 coupe. This annoyed us, because the new M3 and M4 have been coming for the past five months. There were ‘concept’ cars, technical details released and hundreds of spy images and videos. And while BMW still haven’t revealed any official details, we can now at least stare at the pair without any swirly car camouflage hiding their lines. And as far as things to stare at go, the new M cars are not bad at all, are they?

The M3 is the cooler car in our opinion, its behind is just – for want of a better word – bangin’. The rear wheel arches are so wide and awesome, the quad exhaust pipes are racy, the carbon roof is exquisite and the front end is chiselled and nice. And in this light blue hue, it looks pretty much perfect. We likey.

The M4 coupe is no Ugly Betty, but compared to the M3 Saloon it looks a bit…predictable. There is of course a very good reason for that, because it looks exactly the same as the M4 Concept that BMW showed a few months ago. It’s even the same colour. OK, the exhausts are a slightly different shape to those of the concept and it hasn’t got a carbon splitter at the front, but if you placed the two cars next to each other you’d swear they were identical.

As for what’s beneath the metal, both cars use a 3.0liter twin turbo straight six engine producing around 430hp, which is hooked up to a seven-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox (or six-speed manual) sending drive to the rear wheels. Power is distributed across the rear axle via a clever active ‘M’ differential – this aids stability and driftability.

Apparently the official details will come out on Thursday so stay tuned for more juicy M3 and M4 news.

BMW tease the highly anticipated 2015 M3 and M4 models in a not-very-revealing video ahead of their Detroit Auto Show unveiling.

Why must you insist on playing these games BMW!? We’ve been waiting patiently for you to show us the brand new M3 saloon and M4 coupe, and despite it being three long months since you revealed the M4 ‘Concept’ and told us pretty much everything there is to know about the new M cars, we’re STILL waiting to see the finished item.

Now you’ve dropped a totally unrevealing teaser video. The light show effects in said video are quite cool, they might even give old people seizures, but you don’t actually get to see anything more than a pair of BMW halo-ring headlights! Show us the car damn it.

Now watch the light show, sorry, M3 and M4 teaser video…

More will hopefully be revealed at the Detroit Auto Show next month, stay tuned.

Like the new BMW 4 Series but want a bit more flare, individuality and speed? Carhoots has good news!

What’s this angry thing?

It’s the new BMW 4 Series…

The what!?

FOUR Series. Remember? It’s the replacement for the 3 Series Coupe. Apparently it’s confusing having the 6 Series as a standalone model when your other coupe-shaped car shares its name with a sedan. Plus, Audi use different numbers for their coupe models, so you also have permission to blame them for this… But we won’t get bogged down in that issue. Anyway, so from now on all of BMW’s coupes and convertibles will wear evenly numbered badges.

What about that 6 Series sedan gran thing?

BMW call that a four-door coupe… Yeah, us neither. Anyway, we’ve moved quite a long way off topic thanks to your inquisitive questions. The car you see here is no ordinary BMW 4 Series. The standard one, even with the M-Sport pack, looks less aggressive than a squirrel, but with these special M-Performance styling bits we think you’ll agree that it looks properly angry. Which is good.

The cosmetic upgrades include racy 20in wheels, carbon front splitter, black grille, side gills, skirts, door mirrors and rear spoiler as well as that black decal along the side. The rear bumper is also new and makes the 4 Series look all hunkered down and nice.

You can keep the skunk-like black stripe. That interior isn’t standard, is it?

No, it isn’t. We’re guessing that someone at BMW has a mild obsession with carbon fiber and alcantara, because the stuff is everywhere – no bad thing, y’know. The dash features a swathe of alcantara with an un-subtle M-Performance badge to remind passengers that they’re in something a bit special. The gear selector is wrapped in carbon fiber and surrounded by more of the lightweight stuff. If you’re really into raciness then you could even have a sports footrest, honestly.

BMW’s standard M-Sport steering wheel is wrapped in gripy alcantara and features a nice slither of carbon fiber down its center spoke and around the central hub. It also has lights in it… We’ll let you decide whether that’s cool or not, but just remember that you can have all of this kit on a 2.0liter diesel powered 4 Series.

Please tell me that they’ve at least increased the power…

Good news! They have increased the power. Prepare to be bombarded by some numbers. The 420d’s power rises from 181hp/280lb ft to 195hp and 309lb ft, the 428i gets its power bumped from 242hp/258lb ft to 269hp and 287lb ft, finally, the range topping 435i gains 34hp and 37lb ft now producing 336hp and 332lb ft. BMW reckon they’ve achieved these useful power gains by fiddling with their engines’ software and adding in a sports exhaust but aren’t telling what effect the power gains have had on the cars’ straight line performance.
Naturally, the Bavarian Boffins have also added in a limited slip differential along with sports suspension plus bigger brakes to help control those extra raging horses and give the 4 Series a more dynamic focus.
The car you see here is the fully optioned M-Performance model, but as has always been the case with the special M-performance bits you can pick and choose what you do and don’t want. So you could just take the power upgrades, or, if you’re a style over substance sort of chap you can order the cosmetic trinkets alone.

It sort of looks like a BMW… M4?

Another day, another new BMW model and we have images, videos, specs, and pricing details for the highly anticipated BMW 4 Series Coupe.

This car says BMW, heralds the dawn of a new coupe era at BMW. Because it is of course called the 4 Series, which doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as nicely as say, something logical, revered and iconic like 3 Series, what was wrong with ‘3 Series Coupe’? Well, apparently some people who may be slightly erm, un-intelligent got confused because the 6 Series isn’t called the ‘5 Series Coupe’. Apparently these people were literally brought to stuttering, dribbling piles of jelly after trying to fathom BMW’s model lineup. Anyhow, the 4 Series is here, and it looks rather tasty.

Its face is similar to that of the 3 Series sedan and features the same connected headlight design, except here it’s more excitable with its smiling air dam. It’s a happy car that apparently, is “keen to display its family ties with the BMW 3 Series”. It might share styling cues (and a basic chassis, more on that later) with the 3 Series but it is in fact entirely unique, except for maybe the wing mirrors and the door handles, and the shark fin radio antenna and the entire interior. OK, so it shares a few basic components with its 3 Series cousin.

But in its side profile, the 4 Series looks more like a 6 Series than a 3 Series with its long bonnet (or hood, you American), rear set passenger compartment, powerful character line and long, flowing roofline. The 4 Series also receives an ‘Air Breather’ behind the each of the front wheels, which apparently improves airflow in the wheel arches to aid efficiency. But really, it just looks damn cool, especially when it’s painted black in the Sport-line and M Sport trim levels.

Around the back it’s pretty typical BMW, the taillights are very similar to those fitted to the 3 Series, but the 4 Series looks slightly more dynamically focused and hunkered down. The plumpish rear bumper and wheel arches combined with a 10mm lower ride height give the 4 Series quite an aggressive aesthetic – we like. It almost has an old school muscle car look to it with that stubby boot lid and long bonnet.

The interior is virtually identical to that of the 3 Series sedan, which is quite a good thing, because the driving position and feel of that interior is superb.

There are four trim lines to select from which alter the exterior and interior appearance of the car. Starting with Modern-line, which makes everything very beige inside. Then Luxury-line which makes everything brown inside. Sport-line gives black interior trim with flashes of whatever exterior color you choose splashed across the dashboard plus some satin black flourishes outside and larger wheels. Finally there’s the M-Sport trim level which comes with the usual aggressive front and rear bumpers, sportier seats and steering wheel, stiffer springs and dampers, plus M Sport wheels and brakes.

The 4 Series is based on the 3 Series’ wonderful rear drive chassis with a perfect 50:50 weight distribution. However, the front and rear tracks have been widened slightly to compensate for the 4 Series extra 14mm of overall width. The lowered ride height has also allowed the 4 Series’ center of gravity to dip below 500mm from the deck, giving it the lowest center of gravity of any current BMW product. Imagine explaining that to a girl on the first date, you’d be right in there. Extra bracing up front and bespoke spring and damper rates at each corner give the 4 Series a touch of extra precision and agility compared to the 3 Series, apparently. The 4 Series also weighs up to 45kg – about one American toddler – less than the outgoing 3 Series coupe which it replaces. It all sounds (and looks) jolly good. Here BMW, have a biscuit.

Engine options are more predictable than the Fast and Furious 6 plot with BMW offering three engines initially. Prepare to be bombarded by some numbers. The base model 420d musters up 184hp and 280lb ft of torque from its 2.0liter diesel engine and takes 7.5 seconds to reach 62mph, but will also deliver a mind-blowing 60mpg if you drive it like a pensioner. The 428i is powered by a 245hp 258lb ft 2.0liter petrol turbo four-cylinder engine and hits 62mph in a very respectable 5.9 seconds, whilst delivering 42mpg. The ‘elite athlete’ of the group is the 435i which is powered by BMWs wonderful 3.0liter turbo six producing 306hp and 295lb ft of torque, enough to send the slinky coupe to 62mph in 5.4 seconds in rear wheel drive format. OR 4.9 seconds when equipped with BMWs xDrive all-wheel-drive system. The 435i will very nearly do 35mpg as well, unless you’re making it sing to 7000rpm in every gear, then it er, won’t.

All engines are hooked up to a six-speed manual or an optional and brilliant eight-speed automatic gearbox with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters.

Shortly after launch BMW will add approximately one billion (five) extra models to the 4 Series lineup, which is probably far too many if we’re honest. Remember how people got confused over the 3 Series Coupe? Those same people are going to faint when they realize how many choices they have to make when ordering a 4 Series! Anyway, the additional models are the 184hp 420i, the 430d with 258hp and many, many torques (413lb ft), and the monumentally powerful, xDrive only 435d with 313hp and 465lb ft of torque. The 435d says BMW, will “set the pace in the world of sporty diesel engines” – nice. A 420d xDrive and 428i xDrive will also be offered eventually.

There’s a vast amount of equipment on offer which can do everything from find the nearest lavatory, to using computer wizardry to drive the car in traffic jams or help you avoid them totally. You can also have a useful heads up display, some systems which stop you from crashing into oblivious pedestrians and cars in your blind spot, plus variable sports steering and adaptive dampers.

The 4 Series will hit showrooms looking quite spiffy during October priced from £31,575 in 420d guise.

Now, see it in action…

What do you think Carhooters? Like the look of the new 4 Series? Leave a comment below or get in touch on Twitter by tweeting @CarhootsApp